So this post's title may be a bit misleading, because I can't actually tell you for sure which social media platforms are going to be the most important for your business - at least, not without doing one of the business/brand consults included in my social media plans! Obviously, there are a few basics to consider:

Where your target client socializes: Businesses serving a younger clientele will have better luck on Instagram and even Snapchat, where teens and twentysomethings spend more of their online time. Businesses serving a clientele that seeks out visual inspiration (art, design, fashion, crafts, home interiors, etc) will want to focus on building a strong presence on Instagram and Pinterest. Businesses that work with other businesses, particularly those in fields like technology, finance and administration, definitely should be represented on Twitter. And, in my opinion, virtually every business should have a Facebook page - this is especially important for brick-and-mortar businesses whose customers may be doing research (location, hours of operation, reviews).

How comfortable you are with the culture: This is really a matter of personal preference. People who are early adopters of new technology are likely to already find Facebook and Twitter stale. People who don't like to take pictures (and aren't the type to notice interesting visuals in their environment) probably won't see the point in Instagram. People who value detailed analysis and commentary will be easily frustrated by Twitter. And people who are shy or introverted are probably horrified by the prospect of live-streaming via Periscope or Meerkat. What's your comfort level?

How much time you have to spend: Social media is a timesuck for sure - who hasn't lost most of their workday to the endless scrolling and clicking? Creating and executing an effective social media plan is a major time investment that involves developing a presence, curating content, interacting with fans and followers, and tracking results. Unless you have endless time to spend, you need to be mindful of which social media platforms will be the most effective for your business and efficient for you to manage.

These guidelines, again, are pretty basic - but the important takeaway is this:

You don't have to be everywhere.

It's easy to get so caught up in the idea that social media is important - which, true, it is - that we rush to sign up for every platform. And, quickly, we wind up feeling completely overwhelmed, spread too thin, distracted from our real work...and for all the effort in keeping up with a million social media channels, we don't actually have a strong presence on any of them.

You shouldn't need permission to let go of some of your social media; after all, you're a grownup. But if you do, let me give it to you:

It's totally okay to jump ship if a social media platform just isn't working for you.

That's right.

Your time is valuable. You have work to do. And, just like you can't attend every in-person networking event, nor can you realistically maintain an engaging presence on every virtual networking forum.

So I encourage you: choose the platforms where your ideal clients hang out, where you enjoy posting, and where you can invest the time in maximizing the benefits to your business.

For the others, you can do one of three things:

Automate them - using a scheduler or a cross-posting tool like IFTTT, automatically send the content from one platform directly to another. (Note: this is a practice I don't normally condone, but in this case I will, with one strong recommendation - in the bio section of your account, make a note that followers should find you on the other platform(s) that are a priority for your business. That way, you won't look like you don't know how to use social media; instead, you'll look like you're just intentionally focusing your attention on the platforms that matter.)

Outsource them - obviously, this is a service that I offer here at Firebrand Messaging, but I'm not the only source for third-party social media content and management. Many of my clients have a particular social media platform that's their "baby" (usually Instagram), but they ask me to deal with the rest. That way, they reap the benefits of being on multiple platforms, without the time investment or the headache.

Delete them - Yes, that's right. You can certainly let go of any social media accounts that aren't serving you. Maybe you'll choose to delete them altogether, or just go "inactive" (removing all content but retaining ownership of the username so as to prevent others from grabbing it). Either way, you'll be freeing up time to focus on what you really want and like to do.

I'll never not advocate for having a strong social media presence - it's just that, oftentimes, that means not being everywhere all at once.

It should go without saying that every business owner should have a very clear vision of their "dream client" - the client who's not only the most likely to fall madly in love with your service or product, but will also be the most amazing to work with along the way. As important as it is to have identified a dream client, it's also one of the most common stumbling blocks encountered by my business coaching clients. I've found that most entrepreneurs have difficulty really refining that dream client beyond just "they have money." (Hint: your real dream client needs to be way more specific than just having a certain income or budget!)

Of course, the advice we give freely to others isn't always advice we heed ourselves. After doing an overhaul of Firebrand Messaging last month, I came to realize that I had launched this venture without having a clear enough idea of my own dream client. As a result, I had to make some major changes after the fact, and I probably could have saved myself some headaches along the way if I'd dug deeper before I started the company and created my service offerings.

Lesson learned, right?

So with that in mind, I figured I'd share a little more specifically who my dream client is - who knows, maybe it'll help me manifest that client right to my inquiry form! In all seriousness, though, I know how essential it is to have a target in mind, and here's mine:

​Probably a female entrepreneur (although I love working with guys, too; in fact, I'm way less girlie than many gals I know). She may be single or married, child-free or child-having, but when it comes to the success of her business, the stakes are high. She supports herself this way, and her happiness is very much tied to doing what she loves, so her business matters. Big-time.

She works in a creative and/or personality-driven field of some type - this might be art/design, event services, coaching/consulting or something else, but her business is definitely a reflection of her.

She's moderately well-off, not loaded but not living hand-to-mouth either. She's able to invest in herself, her interests and her business, but takes her purchasing decisions seriously. She evaluates opportunities for automation, delegation and outsourcing before jumping in, and she appreciates a clearly defined process for ensuring these resources work for her.

She has curated her brand identity with intention - whether she utilized a professional agency or developed her brand herself, she cares about presenting a consistent image and delivering a specific experience to her clients and customers, and she wants her marketing to reflect that.

She feels driven to share her expertise with a wider audience, and is as eager to cultivate her own professional reputation as that of her business. She recognizes that a strong blog and social media presence are an effective means of achieving that.

So...does any of this sound like you? If so, what are you waiting for? Get in touch and let's figure out how we can work together! (And if you know anyone else who may be in need of copywriting, blogging and social media content, I'd be forever grateful if you'd send them my way, too!)

Happy fall, y'all! I don't know where the year is going, but it sure is going fast. Three more months and 2016 will be here!

I don't know about you, but this particular season has always been an energizing one for me. Maybe it's because of the association with school starting (okay, that's September...August, actually, where I live). Maybe it's the beautiful colors. Maybe it's the excitement of the holidays approaching. Whatever the reason, I always feel motivated to make positive changes to my business, including my blog.

For many people, though, the personal commitments that come with the last few months of the year can make keeping up with blogging overwhelming, to say the least. With that in mind, here are four post topics, one for each full week in October, that hopefully will make it easier this month:

1. Why I Really Do This: Personal posts aren't easy for everyone to write. While some of us (like me, a classic over-sharer) are an open book, others are more private by nature, and that's totally okay. Still, there's real value in sharing some personal things about yourself as a business owner - it humanizes you, gives your readers something meaningful with which to connect, and can help draw in the clients and customers most likely to like and respect you. For this post, consider sharing something about what drives you. Maybe it's your kids. Maybe it's your commitment to raising funds and awareness for a particular cause. Maybe it's a passion for travel. Whatever it is, present it in authentic way and it will be a post your readership will treasure.

2. If I Had It to Do Over: This post is kind of personal, too, but in a totally different way. Here, you're sharing a lesson learned in business - this kind of humility is great, because it demonstrates you're aware of ways you could improve. Did you make a mistake early on that you wish you could correct? Were some of your assumptions off-base? Is there a trend or innovation you wished you'd embraced earlier? Write about it here.

3. How to Get More Value Out of [Service/Product}: Few things in business come across more benevolent than when you tell your customers how to have a better experience with the service or product you sell. How can they maximize the benefits of having bought from you? If you sell a product, maybe there's a user tip or trick you can share, or a way they can customize the product to suit them better. If you're a service-based business, maybe you can offer some hints about how to make the process of working with you easier or more streamlined.

4. Brands (or Businesses) That Inspire Me: Are you brand-loyal? Are there companies out there that you feel really demonstrate the level of quality, service or integrity to which you aspire? Maybe you love Apple's innovations, Nordstrom's customer service, Zappos' company culture, or Ritz-Carlton's employee empowerment. Sharing information on the businesses that move you can say a lot about your priorities, and your customers will learn more about you in the process.

Now that you know what to write, it's time to jump in and start writing! Can't wait to read your posts this month!

I've written before about how running a business is a journey - we set out on one course, and often find ourselves changing direction and adapting to unexpected conditions all along the way. Firebrand Messaging, the newest of my businesses, is no exception.

When I started this company, I envisioned our greatest selling point would be the time we save business owners - the fact that we take their blogging and social media off their plate, freeing them up to do other things - seemed like it would resonate with lots of busy folks.

And it did. Our initial clients, the first ones to sign with our company, were dying to outsource; they wanted nothing to do with their own blog and social media. Of course I was excited to have them on board - it's incredibly validating when someone supports your business idea and wants to work with you! On the other hand, I didn't yet know what I really wanted to do with this company, or whom I'd want to work with most. All part of the journey, right?

After some time passed, I realized something: while all my clients want to save time (because who has enough of that, really), and few of them want to do their own blogging and social media content (after all, why would they hire me otherwise?), the ones I enjoyed working with the most had something else in common.

They're invested. Truly invested. In their business, in their brand, in their clients. They're dreamers. They're goal setters and goal achievers. They care about how their business is portrayed, and that includes their online presence.

As an 18-year businessperson and 13-year business owner (not to mention a professional business speaker, writer and coach), I probably should have predicted that this kind of person would become my ideal client, but I'm honest enough to say that I didn't.

In a nutshell: when it came to the people I want to work with most, I overestimated the convenience factor and underestimated the collaborative factor.

And when it came right down to it, I realized something I should have known sooner. I don't want to convince people to care. I don't want to have to sell people on something that matters so much. Frankly, I don't want to take money from people who don't actually value what I'm bringing to the table, and to their business.

Whew...that's a really long introduction for what was supposed to be the point of this post: the changes I've made to Firebrand Messaging!

As you explore the site, you might notice that I've changed up the information quite a bit - especially the description of my services and how I can help your business to shine. Some of the changes include:

I added lots more information on my copywriting service, because this is something I really LOVE to do! When I started Firebrand Messaging, I thought I'd focus almost entirely on blogging and social media, accepting only a few jobs for other types of writing projects. Fast forward a few months and I couldn't make the changes quickly enough - I've had a blast working on some great businesses' website copy, writing incredible and authentic-sounding professional bios, crafting super-engaging newsletters and email blasts that motivate people to click, and more. I want to do more of that kind of work, so I'm showcasing it more on my site. Click to read all about my content creation services, including lots of sample packages.

I changed up my blogging and social media packages a bit. My blogging plans now focus more heavily on the "thought leader" posts that share your expertise and build your credibility within your industry - something I think differentiates me from other "ghost bloggers." My social media plans, on the other hand, now focus on content inspiration, third-party content for sharing, and custom branded graphics. Basically, I take the work out of what to post and when, and you can go crazy with the actual posting. (And for clients in need of help both with their blog and their social media, I still offer discounted bundles!)

I created an entirely new onboarding process for new clients, which will make our working relationship - and the content I create for you - infinitely stronger. I want to know everything about you, your business and your brand, and I want the process of working together to be manageable and productive for both of us. I'm really excited for what new clients of Firebrand Messaging are going to experience!

Finally, I made some navigational tweaks to the site - created a few new pages, moved some things around, expanded some text, that kind of thing. I just can't leave well enough alone!

Nothing's really changing for my existing clients (unless they see something on the updated site that they like!), and new clients will experience some great new things. I'm really excited for what I fondly call "Firebrand Messaging 2.0," and I hope you are, too! Please reach out if we can be of service to you with your next copywriting project, your blog or your social media plan!

An awesome friend of mine told me recently that every time he posts a selfie (which isn't often), he loses a few Instagram followers.

A Firebrand Messaging client once reported that, after the first Facebook post we shared on her behalf, she lost a fan.

Ouch.

Let's get right to it: seeing your numbers drop on social media sucks, regardless of the reason. No one wants to put themselves (specifically, an extreme close-up of their face) or their business out there and have people turn their backs. I think that, both in business and in the world in general, we get conditioned to believe that when we make an effort, that effort will be rewarded. Especially when it comes to social media. After all, these people are our friends, right? Or, at the very least, supporters of our businesses?

So why,assuming you're not posting hate speech or gory images or inviting people to freaking play Candy Crush, would someone unfollow you over something innocuous?

The sad truth: you'll probably never know.

Some people, especially on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, follow everyone under the sun, specifically to gain a follow back - they churn the list of accounts they follow constantly, because their goal was never to actually support your business or engage with you in any meaningful way.

Some people may have followed your business accounts out of courtesy (let's be real, you know you invited all your family members and friends to "like" your business page as soon as you launched it!). They were never really interested in your services or products, but now they're seeing everything you post show up in their feed. And some of them don't realize that, on a platform like Facebook, they can unfollow your posts without actually unfollowing your page.

And, there remains the distinct possibility that you actually did offend someone, to the point they can no longer stand to associate themselves with your page or account. (The likelihood of that is pretty slim, but some people are more easily offended than others, I guess.)

Regardless of the reason, I can promise you two things:

1. A small number of followers - especially if they're family, friends or any other non-customers - is not going to make or break your business. We've gotten so obsessed with the numbers of fans and followers we have, with no consideration of their relevance, that we're all being spammed by "bots" - fake accounts that sell followers. (Surely I'm not the only one constantly being pitched on "1K Twitter followers for $5!" or tagged in Instagram photos by these same scammy companies.) I swear that going from 409 followers to 407 will make absolutely ZERO difference in your bottom line.

2. Anyone who actually does support you, your business and your brand will not be turned off by something like a selfie, an article share or anything else of the sort. In contrast, your true fans will rally around you regardless of how you choose to express yourself on social media, because they respect and value you, and want to see you succeed. An example from my own experience: There's an artist I really, really like. I've invested in his work, have talked him up to tons of people, and basically think he can do no wrong in my eyes. At the same time, he posts things with the WORST grammar imaginable (quelle horreur for this word nerd!), and some of his personal views couldn't be any different from my own. I don't care. I *heart* him, I *heart* his work, and I'll like or comment on any non-political post he makes.

So, the point of this wordy post is that no one should lose sleep over losing fans and followers who were never really attached to you in the first place. I really like the Abraham Hicks quote, "People will love you. People will hate you. And none of it will have anything to do with you."

Never were those words more applicable than social media.

(Just as an epilogue...the client who lost a follower on her first post happened to gain a "like" on her second post from someone whose support she really craved. And the friend with the apparently offensive selfies? Well, there are plenty of us who happen to love his beautiful face, and I have a feeling his other incredible posts garner lots of adoration.)

About the Author

Unless otherwise specified, all posts are written by ME! I'm Jennifer Reitmeyer, founder of Firebrand Messaging. I can't wait to share all the social media, writing and marketing goodness in my brain.(I can't promise it won't be a strange trip.)